Jags general manager Dave Caldwell broke the news to Mathis in a phone conversation Tuesday.

“It was a difficult decision because he’s done so many things not only for the team but the community,” Caldwell said after a fan event at EverBank Field.

A second-round pick in 2003, Mathis intercepted 30 passes in 137 games, but hasn’t been healthy lately. He missed 11 games the last two years because of knee injuries, and only started four games last year.

Between his health and age, it’s hard to know if anyone will take a chance on him, considering his value was probably higher in Jacksonville than it was anywhere else.

always liked mathis even though i don’t care much for the jags, and i hope he gets another chance with a new team. as an eagles fan, though, i get excited every time i read an article about a veteran DB hitting FA. with all the help we need in our secondary and with about $30 million in cap space (and possibly more) i would love to see the eagles sign 1 or 2 veteran corners (not for asomougha money—for average 2-3 year deals) and 1 of the veteran FA safties as well. if they can do that and use the 4th pick on dee milliner and another pick on a safety, since there seems to be some decent talent at safety in the draft, they could turn a major hole from last season into a strength this season. also would love to see them go hard after kruger as a prototypical 3-4 DE. could go a long way to turning that joke of a defense around